| Whip of the snake ( ( ) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Item Type | Melee weapon |
| Artifact? | No |
| Weight | 15s |
| Danger Level | 30 |
| Material | Leather |
Whips of the snake are a rare type of one-handed melee weapons in ADOM. They belong to the Whips weapon group, and train and benefit from the corresponding weapon skill. Damage-wise, they are comparable to eternium variations of most one-handed weapons but typically inferior to unique items such as swords of sharpness or maces of destruction. Whips of the snake are typically regarded as on of the two possible end-game weapons for dedicated whip fighters.
Whips of the snake have default melee stats of (-2, 5d2+7) and provide a significant bonus to Dexterity and speed (with base value of +7 to each stat). Aside from resulting in a further minor speed and DV increase, Dexterity bonus will augment base damage of the wielded whip (all other weapon groups receive bonuses from PC's Strength). Whips of the snake also provide a source of poison resistance while wielded.
Whips of the snake can be used to perform self-flagellation (as all other weapons of this group) with an added chance to inflict minor poisoning.
Desirability[]
Whips in general are very rarely used in normal games due to their incredibly slim variety (common whips and scourges have abysmal combat stats, while high-end whips of the snake and whips of slaughtering are very high-DL and can typically only be obtained in the late game) and high vulnerability to item destruction. However, for a PC specifically focused on fighting with this weapon group, whips of the snake are a credible end-game weapon. While whips of slaughtering provide a substantial increase in critical hit chance and will usually out-damage whips of the snake, the latter provide passive bonuses which can be suitable for some play styles. In particular, whip-oriented Duelists will likely be better off with a whip of the snake to augment their high speed/high evasion combat approach. Ranged fighters/spellcasters may use whips of the snake to boost their capabilities without actually using the weapon in melee range.
Guaranteed/Common sources[]
Whips of the snake can be randomly generated as all other generic loot.
Greater Identify information[]
------------- uncursed whip of the snake (-2, 5d2+7) {Dx+7} (+7 spd)-----------
When used in melee combat it grants a -2 bonus to hit and causes 5d2+7 points
of damage.
When used as a missile it grants a +0 bonus to hit and causes 1d2 points of
damage.
It modifies your dexterity attribute by +7.
It modifies your speed by +7.
It grants resistance to poison.